Henman wants to see serve and volley in modern tennis

Four-time Wimbledon semi-finalist Tim Henman on Thursday said that conventional serve and volley game still has a place in today's tennis.

Henman, a four-time Wimbledon semi-finalist, was one of the last players of his generation, who had a serve and volley game.

"It's really sad that the art of serve and volley is vanishing. The game has changed. The surfaces are slow and the balls are heavier. The players are not playing that game," Henman told PTI.

"The players are afraid to come onto the net. It's sad. But you can still be successful. All you need to do is to come up on the right shot," he said.

Henman was pleased with his country's show at the Australian Open, where Andy Murray reached the men's singles final and Johanna Konta made the semi-finals in women's singles.

"It's important to have role models for inspiration. Andy was on top his game and Johanna Konta also played great tennis. But there no magic to perform like that. You need to work very hard," he said.

Talking about the match-fixing allegations that surfaced at the start of the first Grand Slam, Henman said he was "shocked" to hear about that.

"It has no place in any sport. I would like to understand if there is any concrete evidence to that," he said adding that he was never approached by anyone for losing the game.

The 41-year-old Briton said Novak Djokovic was playing unbelievable tennis.

"He (Djokovic) is the most consistent player, who has beaten Roger Federer regularly but Federer is also playing well. Wimbledon will be a very good chance for him to add another Grand Slam to his trophies," he said.

Image: Former British No.1 Tim Henman.

Photograph: Getty Images.